Well, a force to be reckoned with is being born today.

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Do we know when all this will be settled (i.e. when Miami will play Clemson, etc.)?

They'll probably start league play in '05. That's just a guess.

I don't see any great benefit in adding VT. Football is the only sport in which they'ed add a competitive team. Not to mention, the television market in the greater Blacksburg metropolitan area just ain't much to hoot about. I'm much happier about making inroads up in Bahstun.

Umm, while Blacksburg, Va may be a small market in and of itself, I tend to believe that Hokies games are carried on tv stations throughout the state.
The metro Clemson, SC tv market isn't too much to crow about either, nor the Athens, GA tv market. :D
While Boston is indeed a big tv market, it isn't much of a market for college sports. All those guys care about are the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, and the Patriots. BC gets about as press in Boston as Northwestern gets in Chicago, which isn't much.

A force to be reckoned with, indeed. Suddenly, the ACC looks like a good league.

I'm surprised things moved this quickly. I really thought the North Carolina mafia would prevent this long enough to at least delay it a year or two.

But why wait until '05 to begin? Why not '04? I've never understood why conference expansion doesn't take hold right away.

Galactus Wrote:A force to be reckoned with, indeed. Suddenly, the ACC looks like a good league.

I'm surprised things moved this quickly. I really thought the North Carolina mafia would prevent this long enough to at least delay it a year or two.

But why wait until '05 to begin? Why not '04? I've never understood why conference expansion doesn't take hold right away.

Gal, are schedules that easy to change? I know it was hard finding a replacement for Bowling Green after 9-11.

This is not good news for us. I have always felt that one of the problems with our basketball program was the fact that we have been too close logistically to the ACC, and therefore not able to get the recruits needed for our program. The really good ones seem to have followed ACC basketball since birth and naturally want to go there (ie. Felton).

Now the ACC will have a powerhouse football conference and we are located right in the middle of it. Recruiting for football just got tougher at least tenfold. When Lou is gone in a few years we will be toast, because he is the reason kids want to come here right now. I don't like our future post Lou with the new and improved ACC in our front yard. :frown:

I know where you're coming from, ET.......but this really shouldn't serve as an excuse for us to field a subpar program. Georgia will be in ACC territory as well.......so will Florida. But you just know those programs aren't going to be hurt one bit by it. Yeah, I know......those states have a larger talent base than we do, but you have to play the hand you're dealt with.

I'm not asking we become a Bud Wilkinson-styled dynasty. I just want us to become a program that can post 6 to 7 wins a year consistently, and make bowls consistently, and stay on the fringe of the top 25. Maybe occasionally we could have a big year. But there's no reason we can't become at least a consistent, if not great, program.........the key is what kind of shape the program is in if Lou leaves. If Lou fails to take us to that level BEFORE he steps down, then yes, we are in serious trouble.

But that would've been the case with or without ACC expansion.

raptor,

You're probably right about the schedule changes. I just get impatient.

Galactus Wrote:I know where you're coming from, ET.......but this really shouldn't serve as an excuse for us to field a subpar program. Georgia will be in ACC territory as well.......so will Florida. But you just know those programs aren't going to be hurt one bit by it. Yeah, I know......those states have a larger talent base than we do, but you have to play the hand you're dealt with.

I'm not asking we become a Bud Wilkinson-styled dynasty. I just want us to become a program that can post 6 to 7 wins a year consistently, and make bowls consistently, and stay on the fringe of the top 25. Maybe occasionally we could have a big year. But there's no reason we can't become at least a consistent, if not great, program.........the key is what kind of shape the program is in if Lou leaves. If Lou fails to take us to that level BEFORE he steps down, then yes, we are in serious trouble.

But that would've been the case with or without ACC expansion.

raptor,

You're probably right about the schedule changes. I just get impatient.

Well, there's always this to help you speed things up -

Looks like the Big 4 was split on this, & there you go.

I don't know that this will effect our program significantly. Basically, the ACC's adding a power house in Miami, & if they go with BC, 2 teams from way up north that no one around here will ever care about.

I'd love it if they went with VPI!!

Va. Tech would be far preferable to Boston College. Moreover, for the sake of geography, Pittsburgh and VPI would be far preferable to Syracuse and Boston College. I know they are looking at TV markets, but geographic logic ought to have some role in this.